EDITORIAL: Land acknowledgments won’t solve district woes

Clark County ACT scores are among the worst in the nation, math and English markers are abysmal, school violence is on the rise thanks to lax disciplinary policies, and grading standards have been watered down to reward sloth. But all these problems will certainly evaporate now that the School Board has decided to begin meetings with a “land acknowledgment.”

For the unwoke masses, a “land acknowledgment” is a statement issued at the beginning of some proceeding intended to recognize that the land upon which the event is taking place was stolen from a particular group of indigenous people. The “acknowledgment” thus telegraphs the progressive enlightenment of the speaker or the organization. It’s moral preening as a performance exercise.

Recent School Board meetings have begun with President Irene Cepeda noting that “the land on which we gather here today is the territorial homelands of the Nuwu, the Moapa Band of Paiutes and the Las Vegas Band of Paiutes.” The board isn’t alone in this ritual. A handful of legislative committees in Carson City have previously begun their business with similar declarations.

While this is all no doubt well-intentioned, it reeks of historical simplicity. “Nearly every plot of land on Earth is inhabited today by groups of people that displaced other people who lived there before,” M. Todd Henderson, a University of Chicago law professor, noted in a June essay for Newsweek. In addition, “native tribes engaged in constant conquest and displacement as well.”

Graeme Wood of The Atlantic called the process “moral exhibitionism” and labeled such statements “a counterfeit version of respect.” He added, “Without time, work or actual redress, the land acknowledgment that implies a moral debt amounts to the highwayman’s receipt.”

Teaching a more complete view of American history — warts and all — and insisting that students are exposed to a more thorough examination of the past is a good thing, of course. So is ensuring that Clark County graduates have an appreciation for the many different native cultures that have played a role — and continue to play a role — in this region’s long history. But district officials may first want to ensure that students in their charge can read, write and master basic numerical calculations.

If Ms. Cepeda and board members feel the need to open meetings with a land acknowledgment, that’s their choice. But perhaps they should recite a second acknowledgment, this one recognizing that the district they oversee is failing too many kids — particularly minority students — and there’s no end in sight to that injustice.